The Glorious
Kingdom of Christ
Part Three
Continued from Parts One & Two
                                                                                              By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                              March 22, 2017
     "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.
     And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him:  His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed," Daniel 7:13-14.  
Introduction
     Our last study ended with Christ returning to the earth in all of His glory and power, and fighting against the enemies of His people, and the armies and allies of the anti-christ.  Every Christ rejecting, rebellious, incorrigible, sinner left on the face of the earth will be destroyed at that time.  There will not be left alive even one person on the earth, who is not willing to submit to the rule of God in Christ.  
     Those destroyed will all be destroyed exactly as described in Malachi 4:1, and in Zechariah 14:12-15.  Nothing cleanses quite like FIRE, and the seven years of the Tribulation period will be a time of "fiery judgment" upon the wicked left behind on the earth when the rapture occurs.  
      Then the seven years immediately following the Tribulation period will be devoted to the cleansing of the earth in preparation for establishing the glorious Kingdom of Christ.
A Brief Review
      In this series of studies, I have already emphasized that Christ Jesus will return to this earth accompanied by two groups; His angels and His army of glorified believers, Matthew 16:27; 25:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8;  Jude 14; Revelation 19:11-16.  
     In Part One of this series, I pointed out that the glorified saints coming back with the Lord will "rule and reign" with Christ, as a perfect government over this entire earth.  See Revelation 5:6-10.  
     A careful study of the Word reveals two major purposes for the angels accompanying the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming.......
     [1]    "The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity,
     And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth," Matthew 13:41-42.  
     This is all part of the cleansing of the earth in preparation for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ.  Notice, "all things that offend."  The Greek word translated as "offend" in this Scripture, literally means, "that which  causes one to stumble."  It is referring to stumbling spiritually, that is, being drawn into sin and iniquity.  
     Folks, when the angels get through with this assignment, there will not be left on the earth one pornographic book, magazine, or picture, or even a pornographic image of any kind or size, to lure people into sin.  There will be no X-rated movies left on the earth.  There will not be any "sex toys" left on earth for men and women to violate themselves with.  There will not be left on the earth anything that is  "suggestive" to  lure people into sin. Nor will there be any drugs, drug equipment, or anything promoting drugs.  Likewise there will be alchoholic beverages, nor those addicted to them.  There will not be a brewery left standing on the face of the earth producing stinking rotgut beer and liquors to steal and ruin the minds and lives of mankind.  And there will be no person left on earth who has given themselves over, heart, mind, body, and soul,  to such filth.  They will all be gone!  The angels of the Lord God will do their job, and they will do it well!   Wicked unbelievers can count on it!      
     [2]   "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other," Matthew 24:31.  
      The angels will gather up the "redeemed" Israelite "remnant"  from every place on the earth, and will bodily transport every one of them back to their ancient homeland, Psalm 50:5;  Isaiah 27:13.  Not even one of Israelite will be left in a Gentile nation or land, Ezekiel 39:27-28. None!  The "Holy Land" was given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by an "everlasting covenant," and that land will be the inheritance of the redeemed Israelite people "for ever." Genesis 17:7-8.  
     I might add that the nation of Israel will no longer be confined to the small area along the coast of the Mediterranean that it now occupies.  The borders of Israel will be extended to include all the land mass promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18.  Look at your Bible maps!  Israel will become the largest "superpower" nation on earth, guiding and directing the other nations and peoples of the world to live for and serve the Lord God of the Bible.   
The Timing.......
     I have previously wrote that the Second Coming will occur at or near the end of the Tribulation period.  In this study, I want to clear this up, setting forth a more precise time when the Lord will return at His Second Coming.....
     " Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken;
     And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 1:7-8.    
     I take this inspired statement as literal truth.  This Scripture explicitly states that the Lord's Second Coming will begin "immediately after the tribulation."  In other words, the seven years of the Tribulation, 1,260 days plus 1,260 days; 2,520 days total, will have been completed; finished; over.  Since the inspired Word explicitly says, "Immediately after..," I take it to mean the very next day; the first day of the 8th year in the series of years.  Or, another way of putting it, the first day of the next series of seven years which follow the Tribulation period.  
The Next Seven Years
     Dear readers, I have often wrote on the judgments of the seven year Tribulation period, and many other prophecy teachers have also wrote on the same topic.  But in all of my past 63 years in the Lord's ministry, I have never run across any serious discussion of the seven years immediately following the Tribulation period.   Well...in this Bible study I will be emphasizing what will happen during the seven years which immediately follow the Tribulation period.   
     The seven years following the Tribulation period, are plainly referred to in the Scriptures, therefore there must be some important events which occur during this future period of time.  Read on, and we shall see.....
      The End of War
     I have previously pointed out the great battle which will take place at the Lord's return back to the earth.  The battle  will begin when the Lord comes forth from the city of Petra, located in the nation of modern Jordan, south of Amman, Jordan, and on the east side of the Jordan River.  The battle will continue westward all the way to and through Jerusalem, and then northward to the Plain of Megiddo [Armageddon].
      There, on the Plain of Megiddo, the last shot ever fired in war among men and nations, the last screams of the dying, the last moans and groans of the wounded, will echo across that plain, and then "men will learn war no more," Isaiah 2:2-4; 26:9; Micah 4:1-3.  Oh, glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  Thank you Lord Jesus!   Thank you Father God!  Hallelujah!  
Then the Changes Begin
[1]     First, the battlefields will be cleansed of all of the weapons of war.  "And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years,
     So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire:  and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God," Ezekiel 39:9-10.    
     Dear readers, some prophecy teachers put forth the theory that these  weapons are really just modern weapons, using primitive language in describing them.  They base their theory on the fact that some modern weapons are now being manufactured from special kinds of wood.
      Folks, don't allow yourself to be guilty of correcting the mistakes which the Lord God DID NOT MAKE in giving us His Word.   It doesn't take much intelligence to understand that during the seven terrible years of the Tribulation [Matthew 24:21], there is going to be a total breakdown of modern technology, as we know it today, and mankind left behind on the earth following the rapture,  will regress back into the dark ages.  Most of mankind's modern weapons of war will become inoperable, obselete, and worthless due to the total loss of all electric power; even battery power.  Carefully read your Bible.  Every city on this earth will be reduced to total ruins, Zephaniah 3:6; Revelation 16:19.  No man-made structure will be left standing on the whole earth.  This means no manufacturing plants will exist to replace what is lost.  When (not if) this occurs, men, still determined to fight, will literally revert back to swords, knives, bows and arrows, spears and handstaves, even clubs and rocks, exactly as stated here in God's Word.  Always take God's Word at face value as literal truth for what it says!  
     When thousands and thousands of bodies from the northern armies are left on the battlefields on the east side of the Dead Sea [Ezekiel 39:11], the people of Israel will go forth and gather up the weapons, and take anything of value from the bodies, exactly as described in the inspired Word in Ezekiel 39:8-10.  Believe the Word!
     Notice the emphasis on the "trees" in this passage.  During the Tribulation, it is likely that every tree in Israel, or perhaps in the entire Middle East, will be cut down or otherwise destroyed.  The people of Israel will then burn these weapons for "seven years," allowing time for the regrowth of the trees and vegetation.  Our God thinks of everything necessary for His people's welfare!  Glory to His Holy Name!  
     Folks, when ancient Israel left the land of Egypt some 3,500 years ago, they left with all the wealth and treasures of Egypt, Exodus 3:21-22; 11:1-3; 12:33-36. The Lord God gave the wealth of Egypt to the Israelites for their having served as slaves to the Egyptians.
     Even so, when modern Israel is delivered from the oppression and bondage placed upon them by the present modern nations of the world; the United Nations organization, the New World Order, the Palestinians, the Muslim nations, etc., in gathering the spoil from the bodies of their enemies, Israel will become the wealthiest nation on the earth.  Folks, it takes a lot of wealth to finance even a small army, and here we are talking about an army of hundreds of thousands.  
     Surely our readers can see, how the Lord God, in type and shadow, has again "declared the end from the beginning," Isaiah 46:9-10.        
[2]    Second, the people of Israel will then bury the thousands and thousands of dead bodies fallen on the battlefield, Ezekiel 39:11-15.
     There will be so many dead bodies on the battlefield, that it will require seven months just to bury them all, 39:12.  Then after they have buried all of the bodies on the battlefield, they will send men out to find other bodies, where some wounded died while fleeing from the battle.
      ".....they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it:  after the end of seven months shall they search," 39:14.   When these "men of continual employment" find even "a man's bone," they will set up a sign by the bone "till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog," 39:15.  
     So the entire earth is going to be cleansed of the bodies and bones of the dead [Jeremiah 25:33], in preparation for the establishment of the Lord's glorious Kingdom.
[3]   Third, then the survivors of the Tribulation will be cleansed.....
     Every true believer today is aware that we presently have a "sin nature" in the flesh, which was inherited from Adam, and which causes us all kinds of problems, Romans 7:18; 7:25; Galatians 5:16-17.  However, those of mankind who  survive the Tribulation, and  enter into the Millennial Kingdom, will be cleansed of their "sin nature." The Lord's Kingdom upon the earth will be a kingdom of absolute righteousness, therefore even the "sin nature" will be cleansed from mankind.  How?   By the Lord God planting a tree.....
     Yes, I did say,   "By the Lord God planting a tree."  
     The Lord God, in speaking to Israel in Ezekiel 34:29, explicitly stated, "And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more."  
     The Hebrew word translated as "renown" in this Scripture, literally means "famous."  Now what plant in the Bible is so "famous" that men have literally searched for it across the centuries of human history?  
     Going back to the very beginning of human history, the inspired Word clearly states that the Lord God planted two very special trees in the Garden of Eden, [1] "...the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, [2] and the tree of knowledge of good and evil," Genesis 2:9.  
     The Lord God then plainly told Adam,
     "...Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
     But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it:..." Genesis 2:16-17.  
     The Lord God never told Adam that he could not eat of "the tree of life."  The prohibition the Lord gave Adam was eating of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," Genesis 2:17.   There was obviously something very special about "the tree of life," for after Adam disobeyed the Lord and ate of the forbidden tree, the Lord expelled Adam and Eve from the garden, and even placed guardian angels around the garden, so that Adam and Eve could not get to "the tree of life," Genesis 3:23-24.  
     It is then "the tree of life" that is "famous" in the annals of mankind, and for which some men have literally spent their lives searching for that tree.  Folks, I believe "the tree of life" was a literal species of tree, which has cleansing powers like no other tree on earth, Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2.  I have no other option, than to believe that the Lord God removed that species of tree from the earth, likely sometime between Adam being expelled from the Garden, and the flood in the days of Noah.  But the inspired Word very explicitly states that this "famous" tree will be planted again in the earth in preparation for the glorious Kingdom of our Lord.
     And where will it be planted?  Why, where else but in the land of Israel?  Read about it for yourself in Ezekiel 47:1-12.  And when the children of Israel eat the fruit from those trees, and drink the "living water" from the river flowing from beneath the throne of the Lord, they shall be totally cleansed of their "sin nature."  Compare Joel 3:20-21.  
     But it will not be limited to just the people of Israel, for the prophetic Word is quite clear that the Gentiles who have survived the Tribulation will come to Israel every year "to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles," Zechariah 14:16-21. This will give the Gentile peoples access to also eat the fruit from "the trees of life," and drink the "living waters" flowing from the throne of the Lord,  and they will likewise be cleansed of the old Adamic "sin nature."  Glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord Jesus!  
[4]   Fourth, shortly after the Lord's return, a central place of worship for all of mankind to assemble and worship the Lord, will be established upon the earth.  In fact, such a place may already exist.  
     The prophet Amos, in the context of the return of Christ, was inspired of God to write, "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breeches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old," Amos 9:11.  See also Acts 7:44-46 and 15:15-18.  
     Archeologists have discovered some amazing things over the past century, as they have "dug up" the history of the the holy land.  For instance, now quite a number of years ago, the entire palace where King David once lived, was discovered.  
     The Bible does not say what happened to "the tabernacle of David," which was used as a temporary place of worship until Solomon's Temple was completed.  The Lord God explicitly states that He will raise up, and repair, "the tabernacle of David."  So we have reason to believe that somewhere in the holy land David's tabernacle is still hidden and preserved, and the Lord God knows exactly where to find it, Deuteronomy 29:29.  
     Our readers should remember that King David desired to build "a house" dedicated to the Lord God of Heaven, as a central place of worship for the nation and people of Israel. However, because David was "a man of war," God would not permit him to do so.  Instead, the Lord God graciously permitted David's son, King Solomon, to build the first Temple of the Lord.  
     Since David was not permitted to build the Temple, he raised up a temporary structure, referred to in the Scriptures as "the tabernacle of David."  This structure served as a central place of worship for the Israelite people to assemble until the Temple being built by King Solomon was completed.  The prophecies are quite clear that this ancient "Tabernacle of David" will be raised up again, right after the return of the Lord, as a temporary place of worship, for Israel and for all the nations that will be coming to Jerusalem yearly to observe "the feast of tabernacles," and to worship the Lord,  Zechariah 14:16.
      But even while "the tabernacle of David" is serving as a temporary place of worship for the Israelites and the nations, a permanent place of worship will be under construction in Israel.  And just as the Lord Himself clearly stated, it will be "the house of prayer" for all nations and peoples to come and worship the Lord, Matthew 21:13.    
     Do our readers remember how long it took for King Solomon to build the first Temple of God in Jerusalem?  Seven years!  I Kings 6:37-38.  
     In these prophecies, we are dealing with the seven years following the Tribulation period.  So while all of the cleansing of the earth is going on, during the same seven year period, the Temple of God will be under construction in Jerusalem.  Read the inspired description of this beautiful "house of prayer" for all nations and peoples, in Ezekiel 40 - 48.   My God, "how great thou art!"  Praise the Lord!  Glory to God!  
     [5]   Fifth, then when the Millennial Temple is completed and dedicated, an event all of redeemed mankind has been looking forward to throughout human history will occur.....
     "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and His voice was like the noise of many waters: and the earth shined with His glory.......
     And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east,
     So the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
     And I heard Him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.  
     And He said unto me, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever,.......," Ezekiel 43:2-7.  
     Glory to God!  Oh, glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  What a glorious event it will be, when the Lord God of Heaven; our own precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, comes back to dwell with mankind upon the earth "for ever."   Oh, thank you Father God, for the glorious gift of your Son, John 1:14; 3:14-18.  
     Dear readers, I make no claim to knowing the exact "date" when this will occur, however I suspect that the Lord Jesus will enter the glorious Millennial Temple on or at the beginning of the 8th year in the series of years.  "8" is the Bible number signifying "change; new things; new beginning."  The Lord entering into the Temple described by Ezekiel, and dwelling among men "for ever," is certainly going to be "a change."  Glory to God!  
     I do know that if the rapture occurs and the Tribulation begins during this present year of 2017, then the Trib would end in 2024, seven years later.  Then the next series of seven years would take mankind to 2031.  If the Lord should enter the Temple the following year, 2032, it would be absolutely amazing.  "32" is the Bible number signifying "Covenant; to make or fulfill a covenant."  Praise the Lord!
Conclusion
     In this study I have written about some glorious, wonderful, events that yet await redeemed mankind.  Dear reader, if you are not truly saved by God's grace, you will miss it all.  I beg; I plead, with every reader to examine yourself, and "make your calling and election sure," 2 Peter 1:10-11.  I truly want to meet every reader in glory when our Lord comes "in the air" to call His people "home," 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Please don't disappoint me!   May the Lord add His blessings to this Bible study, and bless every reader is my prayer.  
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This Series to be continued as the Lord Permits
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     All comments, questions, and corresponce should be addressed to:  Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 County Road 8120, Rolla, Missouri 65401.
     Those readers desiring to speak to me personally, should call me at 573-201-0491.  Due to me health, I am mostly homebound.  Only on Sundays do I still try to attend church services, so feel free to call anytime during the week.  May God bless you all.